248C JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL
as ordinates, against the hours of discharge as abscissa on a
log-log graph shown as Fig. 6.
T h e ~verage cell voltages over a range of discharge rates
are shown in Fig. 7 .
Applications and Life
The nickel-iron-alkaline cell has been applied to almost
every field in which storage batteries are used. Its steel con-
struction and long life under severe operating conditions,
even where neglect and abuse are encountered, make it par-
ticularly suitable for heavy-duty industrial and railway ap-
plications. The predominant feature of these services is that
the battery is required to deliver its capacity over a period
of one to eight hours as contrasted, for example, with the
engine starting field which demands high current discharges
for very brief periods. A list of the more important uses to
which Edison alkaline storage batteries are applied would
include: electric industrial trucks and tractors, storage bat-
tery mine and industrial locomotives, shuttle cars, railway-
car lighting and air conditioning, railway signal systems,
multiple unit control, marine services, electric street trucks
isolated lighting plants, emergency lighting, time clocks,
police and fire alarm systems, oil circuit-breaker control,
miners safety-cap lamps, instrument and laboratory power
supply, and portable lighting units.
One of the chief advantages of nickel-iron-alkaline cells is
their long life in services where mechanical and electrical
abuse is encountered. Vibration does not cause loss of active
material from the plates nor are they affected by many of
of the accidental conditions of operation such as overcharg-
Nickel-Cadmium Batteries--Pocket Type
Sven Bergstrom 1
About 1890 Waldemar Jungner, a Swedish scientist, be-
came interested in storage batteries and conducted exten-
sive experimental tests with the types known at that time.
At about the same time that Thomas A. Edison made his
invention in the United States of a nickel-iron battery,
Jungner had independently applied for patents covering
approximately the same type of battery. Jungner then ex-
perimented further and received in 1901 and 1903 Ameri-
can patents based on the use of nickel oxide in the positive
plates and iron and cadmium materials in the negative plates.
It was some years before this invention was put into a form
suitable for industrial use, but a company was formed in
Sweden which began to manufacture industrial batteries in
1910. From this small start, the business has grown until
nickel-cadmium batteries are known and used the world over
Manufacture in the United States was begun in 1946.
The advantages of the nickel-cadmium battery are nu-
merous. It is similar to the Edison battery in many impor-
tant respects. Both are mechanically rugged, will withstand
shock and vibration and are also electrically robust in that
they will withstand overcharge, overdischarge, and standing
idle in a discharged condition.
The advantages of the nickel-cadmium battery stem from
the plate construction, the use of cadmium, and the use of an
alkaline electrolyte. The cadmium metal used for the nega-
tive active material can be discharged at a high rate and at
1 Nife, Inc., Copiague, New York.
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SOCIETY September 1952
ing, overdischarging, short-circuiting, or reverse charging.
The actual life in years will, of course, vary with the severity
of the service. Average values will range from 7 years in
heavy-duty services to recorded instances of 25 years or
more in stand-by and floating applications.
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
CRENNELL AND LEA, "Alkaline Accumulators," Longmans,
Green & Co., New York (1928).
LAMAR LYNDON, "Storage Battery Engineering," McGraw-
Hill Book Co., Inc., New York (1911).
G. W. VINAL, "Storage Batteries," John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
New York (1940).
PENI)ER AND DEL MAR, "Electrical Engineers Handbook,"
4th ed., Electric Power, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York (1949).
Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Storage Battery Division, West
Orange, N. J., various publications.
A. E. KNOWLTON, "Standard Handbook for Electrical En-
gineers," 8th ed., McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York
(1949).
E. F. ROEBER, Trans. Electroehem. Soc., 1, 195 (1902).
A. E. KENNELLY AND S. E. WHITING, Trans. Electrochem. Soc.,
6, 135 (1904).
M. DE KAY THOMPSON AND H. K. RICttARDSON, Trans. Electro-
chem. Soc., 7, 95 (1905).
C. W. BENNEWT AND H. N. GILBERT, Trans. Electrochem. Soc.,
9.3, 359 (1913).
L. C. TtYRNOCK,Trans. Electrochem. Soc., 30,273 (1916).
~ . DE KAY THOMPSON AND L. R. BYRNE, Trans. Eleclrochem.
Soc., 31,339 (1917).
L. C. TURNOCK, Trans. Electrochem. Soc., 32,405 0917).
a low temperature. Although it does not give quite as high
a discharge voltage as iron, it is stable on open circuit and
shows very little self-discharge. It can be trickle-charged, and
when standing idle it evolves practically no gas so that for
some purposes nonspiI1 cells are sealed, and need be vented
to the air only during charge.
The positive plate of the cadmium battery is of a f t a t
pocket type. This flat pocket construction allows extremely
thin plates to be made and permits the plates to be brought
close together. As a result, high voltages may be attained
during high rate discharge and the battery can be used for
Diesel cranking service.
Cell C o n s t r u c t i o n
The pocket typ~ of construction used for both positive and
negative~plates of the nickel-cadmium battery is similar to
the pocket type negative used in the Edison battery. Pockets
or compartments are fabricated from sheet steel which has
been nickel-plated and pierced by many small holes. These
pockets are approximately ~ in. x 5 in. in size, have a thick-
ness which may be anywhere between 0.070 in. and 0.250 in.,
and are filled with active material. The active material of the
positive plate is a highly purified grade of nickel oxide.
During charge, this is converted to Ni(OH)3, while during
discharge, it is reduced to Ni(OH)2. The active material also
contains graphite flake which adds to the electrical conduc-
tivity. The negative plate consists of cadmium metal. During
 Vol. 99, No. 9 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE ON S T O R A G E B A T T E R I E S 249C

discharge, this cadmium is converted to cadmium hydroxide are shown for three different classes of battery. One type of
and during charge is converted back to metallic cadmium. battery is built for service where a low internal resistance is
Plates are assembled from pocket elements in almost any not required. I t is for a battery containing fairly thick plates
desired size, and then these plates are collected into a cell and meant to be used in stand-by service where it is required
with almost any desired number of plates per cell. In this to deliver power for five hours or longer. At the 10-hour rate
way, capacities of 2 to 1000 amp-hr or more can be obtained. this battery, shown as line A in Fig. 1, produces more power
per pound of battery than the other two types shown. At the
Electrolyte 0.5-hour rate it produces less power. By going to thinner (line
The electrolyte used in the various types of alkaline cells B) and still thinner (line C) plates, it is possible to improve
is substantially the same. I t is high purity potassium hy- the voltage so that at the l~0-hour discharge capacity, the
droxide in water and may have, in addition, a small amount power output reaches 25 watts/lb. This is done by sacrificing
of lithium hydroxide. The normal specific gravity is 1.190 the power output at the 10-hour rate. Such a battery is ob
but, if cells are to operate in a cold climate, the specific viously to be used primarily where a high rate discharge is
gravity may be increased to 1.23-1.30. The higher gravities required.

TABLE I. Characteristics of nickel-cadmium pocket type storage batteries

T y p e A V C 3316 T y p e S A V C 3516 T y p e S T N 4516

A m p - h r a t 5-hr
rate ......... 315 306 310
Weight, kg ..... 16.9 17.3 21.5
Vol, cc . . . . . . . . . 7700 7060 9900

% Cap, Avg v Whr/lb i W/lb

VV/It) il %
% CaD.
Cap. I Avz
A v g vv W[u'b W/Ib % Cap. Avg v Whr/lb W/lb

10 104 1.235 10.85 1.085 103.5 1.245 10.35 1.035 101.5 1.26 8.4 0.84
5 1.20 10.15 2.03 100 1.225 9.83 I 1.966 100 1.25 8.18 1.64
I

2 1.12 8.45 4.22 93 1.17 8.66 4.33 95 1.225 7.62 3.89

77 1.02 6.64 6.64 82.6 1.10 7.27 ' 7.27 89 1.19 6.91 6.91
1 6I .5 0.89 4.62 9 .24[ 67.4 1.00 5.40 10.8 79.5 1.135 5.90 11.80
i 51.4 0.875 3.61 14.44 66 1.045 4.51 18.04
i 21.66
~ -- 43.3 0.79 2.74 16.44 56.4 0.98 3.61
_- - I 31.0 0.61 1.515 18.2 39.6 0.865 2.24 25.9

50
40
>-
tl:
50
1.20

t~
o 10 1.00
J/, /
113
.J
u~
F-- 0.80 .

060
9 2z!
O
(3.
0.01 0.1 1.0 I0
o- DISCHARGE CAPACITY IN HOURS
O Fro. 2. Nickel-cadmium pocket type of batteries, voltage
.05
during discharge.
oJ 02 0.3 0.5 I 2 3 4 5 io
DISCHARGE CAPACITY IN HOURS

FIG. 1. Nickel-cadmium pocket type of batteries The voltage during discharge is shown in Fig. 2 for these
same three classes of battery. At high rate discharge the volt-
age falls off on all batteries. The thinnest plate nickel-cad-
give better performance at subzero temperatures but shorten
mium battery shown in this chart is considerably superior to
the life of the battery when used at normal temperatures.
the other two batteries over the entire range of useful dis-
During the operation of a battery, no potassium hydroxide or
charge rates and obviously has its greatest advantage at
lithium hydroxide is consumed so that the specific gravity
high rate of discharge. The batteries used in calculating per-
does not change with the state of charge of the battery and
formance data for this chart are shown in Table I. These are
the freezing point of the electrolyte is always quite low.
approximately 300 amp-hr batteries and it is assumed, in
The electrolyte never freezes solid so that no damage is
general, that, since d a t a are expressed in watts per pound of
caused to the cells by freezing and they perform as usual
battery, the same d a t a will apply to other sizes of battery.
after being thawed out.
The density of these batteries is approximately 135 l b / f t 3
The effect of lithium hydroxide is believed to prolong the
Some cells are also made with a larger electrolyte volume
life of the cell by making it more immune to electrical abuse.
above the plates and, therefore, have a lower density.
Engineering Characteristics Self -Discharge
The capacity of the storage battery as affected by the rate Because of the cadmium negative-active material, the self-
of discharge is shown in Table I and in Fig. 1. Three lines discharge of these batteries is quite low. Where extreme care

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 250C JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY September 1952

is taken with the purity of materials, a self-discharge rate of
20 per cent per year or less has been attained. Many com-
mercial batteries will fall between 20 and 40 per cent per year
of self-discharge. The effect of temperature on these batteries
is somewhat different from other batteries. The nickel-cad-
mium battery can be used for high rate discharge at low
temperature, and its performance in this kind of service
expressed per pound of battery will be close to that of a
motive power type lead-acid battery and will be considerably
superior to an Edison battery. At high temperatures, the
life of the battery on overcharge is excellent although the
manufacturers recommend that the battery temperature be
not allowed to exceed 115~
The life of the battery under service conditions is good.
Instances are on record of batteries in continuous service for
over 25 years in Europe. The American-made batteries have
not been on the market long enough to establish such an
enviable record, but there is no reason to believe that they
will be inferior to European batteries in this respect. For
automobile use, the French manufacturer guarantees the
battery for four years.
Usefulness
In view of the above engineering characteristics, it is not
surprising to find that a nickel-cadmium battery can be used
as a replacement for practically any other type of battery,
limited solely by cost and a slight difference in weight and
volume. It has not yet found extensive usefulness for auto-
mobile starting because it occupies about one-third more
space and the cost is very considerably higher than a lead
battery. In the industrial field, however, it has attained a
wide usefulness for stand-by and emergency lighting, for
Diesel cranking, for telephone service, for railroad carlighting
service, and, to a limited extent, for electric truck operations.
Although the sales volume of the battery at present is not
as great as that of other types of storage battery, it is ex-
pected that the nickel-cadmium battery will become an in-
creasingly important commercial article in the United States.

S i n t e r e d Plate N i c k e l - C a d m i u m Batteries
G. B. Ellis ~, H. M a n d e l ~, a n d D. L i n d e n ~

The nickel-cadmium battery has been known since about 1,4,- 1

1900 and has been constructed for many years in the familiar
tubular and flat pocket designs. In the last fifteen years,
however, the sintered plate battery has been developed. The ~\ ~
early work on this construction was limited to thick sintered
plates, but during World War I I the AFA Company in Ger-
~, I 65A I l /
many did considerable work on thin plates in order to obtain
a battery having improved high rate and low temperature
performance for starting applications. A plant was set up at
Hanover, Germany, to produce batteries of this type for
military purposes, but extensive use of this battery was
limited because of a shortage of nickel as well as the early
failure of the negative plate on cycle service.
Since World War I I considerable interest has existed, both ? t- I -
here and abroad, in thin plate sintered nickel-cadmium bat- a~L__ J. . . . . 180 NO 240 270 300
0 30 60 90 120 150
teries because of their promising high rate and low tempera- TiME (MINUTES)

ture performance and their ability to float for long periods of FIG. 1. Cell voltage vs. discharge time, all discharge rates
time without damage or loss of capacity. The Signal Corps at 85 4- 5~ for a nickel-cadmium sintered-plate cell, rated
Engineering Laboratories, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, c'~pacity: 75.0 amp-hr.
has sponsored this development within the United States
which has resulted in the establishment in this country of the ,.4 T ', I
"know how" and the facilities for the fabrication of nickel-
i L L q I
cadmium batteries which have successfully fulfilled the power
requirements of several special military applications. I I : ~ I
\ i
The sintered plate battery uses nickel oxide as the positive
active material and cadmium metal as the negative active
"~ ~ ...... : ~- T .... \- I
material, but differs from other nickel-cadmium batteries
in the method of support. Plates are made from nickel powder < :
which is molded into shape and heated at an elevated tempera-
3~176
ture in a nonoxidizing atmosphere. This gives a strong, porous 420A ' J I
plate which contains about 80 per cent pore volume. o0,41 i
i
Active material is then impregnated in the pores of these I
plates by soaking them in a solution of nickel salts to make pos- /
7-
1
itive plates, and a solution of cadmium salts to make negative
plates. Details of the process have been described by Fleischer
(1).
o! 1o Jo 90 120 150
TIME (MINUTES)
ISO 2~ 240 270

Performance measurements were made on a group of 5- FIG. 2. Cell voltage vs. discharge time, all discharge rates
1 Power Sources Braneh, Signal Corps Engineering Labora- at 0~ for a nickel-cadmium sintered-plate cell, rated capacity :
tories, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. 75.0 amp-hr.

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